Leaning how to shoot AR's on the move

I'm working on an AR build that I want to use for 3 gun competitions next year. Are there any videos that show how to shoot an AR on the move. I have found plenty of videos of folks shooting them in competitions but I haven't found one that explains how to do it right.

Thanks,
Eric

I'm no expert but it's relatively straight forward.
Don't cross your feet while you move, good posture
Firm grip and do your best to keep your sight alignment
And of course, be mindful of where you are shooting (Muzzle awareness)

There are some courses out there you can take that'll actually give you the hands on experience for this kinda stuff you don't mind spending some money for the course and ammo.

Spend some time playing paintball and softair.

hvymax said:

Spend some time playing paintball and softair.

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Oh, now there is some good advice. Every time I play. 3.2.1 Go pfffft. Paintball to the helmet.

Play woodsball, or a scenario game, where your spawn points or home base is far enough away where you can't see your enemy.

search for todd jarrett and ar-15, pretty sure he has at least some tips on video or youtube.

bring your gear to a match and just start competing. watching the better folks do it is a good way of picking up pointers. while you're without all the gear, also go and watch some matches, but i suspect if you bring at least a pistol, and have ammo for the other guns, you'll find some nice folks more than willing to let you borrow their stuff. i have lent my shottie out numerous times. will also help you figure out what gear and setups you need or want.

I have a Rock River R3 upper on order but no telling how long its going to take for delivery.

In the mean time, I was thinking about putting a red dot sight on my Rugger 10/22, 22 LR and doing some practice. Heck even after I get my AR setup, I would like to do the majority of my practice using a 22Lr gun. I suspect the important things are getting the gun on target quickly, moving properly/safely and pulling the trigger correctly. I think most of that can be practiced with a 22. Of course it would be better to get a 22 that is styled after an AR with all the same controls.

One question. I am used to shooting slowly and deliberately. In action shooting you don't have the time to get that perfect shot, again and again in a short amount of time. As a shooter, you give up one hole ragged groups for speed. Is shooting an AR in action scenarios more like shooting a shot gun? When I shoot my shot gun at trap/skeet, I don't really aim the gun with the sight. I put the gun on my check and wherever I look is where I am pointed, as long as I have a good check weld. Is shooting an AR much the same? Put the gun on your check, and what your looking at is what your going to hit? I suspect it's sort of in between shooting with a sight/scope and shooting a shotgun in that you use your red dot but you do most of your work pointing the gun with your eyes. I'm not sure I explained that very good.

Any suggestions or comments?

just do what i did.. just jump in the competition.. you learn from others.. good thing about competitions.. most are great on giving you advice etc.

If you want to use the .22 to practice for a match, you should have the same optics set up on both rifles. I'd suggest you get a .22 upper or better yet a converter for your competition rifle.

If you get a softair you can set up a course anywhere and practice running and gunning.

consider taking a Carbine course. there are several instructors on the forum

justeric said:

I'm working on an AR build that I want to use for 3 gun competitions next year. Are there any videos that show how to shoot an AR on the move. I have found plenty of videos of folks shooting them in competitions but I haven't found one that explains how to do it right.

Thanks,
Eric

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Matt Burkett has an AR video that might help. Or get the Noveske 3G dvd. As for practice, I would find a place that will let you shoot on the move; work linear movement slowly, once you are comfortable being in motion and controlling the muzzle, start shooting box drills with the rifle. Also, if you don't already have one, get a shot timer.
One of my guys is pretty new to rifle shooting; we have had him run our pistol practice stages solely with a rifle (it seems to be helping). Although, if you already shoot USPSA/IPSC or IDPA I would focus on shooting the rifle from 50-400yds. A hoser stage will be easy for you, making a 241yd shot on an MGM flash target after shooting 22 rounds of shotgun uphill (both ways) might not that easy.

justeric said:

I have a Rock River R3 upper on order but no telling how long its going to take for delivery.

In the mean time, I was thinking about putting a red dot sight on my Rugger 10/22, 22 LR and doing some practice. Heck even after I get my AR setup, I would like to do the majority of my practice using a 22Lr gun. I suspect the important things are getting the gun on target quickly, moving properly/safely and pulling the trigger correctly. I think most of that can be practiced with a 22. Of course it would be better to get a 22 that is styled after an AR with all the same controls.

One question. I am used to shooting slowly and deliberately. In action shooting you don't have the time to get that perfect shot, again and again in a short amount of time. As a shooter, you give up one hole ragged groups for speed. Is shooting an AR in action scenarios more like shooting a shot gun? When I shoot my shot gun at trap/skeet, I don't really aim the gun with the sight. I put the gun on my check and wherever I look is where I am pointed, as long as I have a good check weld. Is shooting an AR much the same? Put the gun on your check, and what your looking at is what your going to hit? I suspect it's sort of in between shooting with a sight/scope and shooting a shotgun in that you use your red dot but you do most of your work pointing the gun with your eyes. I'm not sure I explained that very good.

Any suggestions or comments?

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There are 10/22 stocks that almost perfectly mimic the AR-15.

a 10/22 even with just the normal stock and stock sights will help you with your acquisition skills if your spend some time running around with it, the trick is finding a range that will allow you to run around on their course.

I had to wait till a friend bought property in WV before I got a chance to do some real run and gun training

amoebicmagician said:

There are 10/22 stocks that almost perfectly mimic the AR-15.

a 10/22 even with just the normal stock and stock sights will help you with your acquisition skills if your spend some time running around with it, the trick is finding a range that will allow you to run around on their course.

I had to wait till a friend bought property in WV before I got a chance to do some real run and gun training

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+5000, the basic skills of shooting on the move definitely translate across different platforms. I cannot shoot an AR from a dead sprint a la daniel horner; I but I can do it jogging now, a lot of this has come from being able to shoot a pistol on the move.

Just realize that 3-gun shooters do what they do for a reason. And they build their rifles accordingly. Mid or rifle length gas systems are more trouble free than carbine ones. Long free float handguards are used so you can hold it as far down towards the muzzle brake as possible as this aids in steading the rifle for shots on the move and when not using a barricade. Hardly anyone is using red dots plus magnifiers anymore, because the good tactical scopes have reticles that aid in shooting both at 1x and at max power. I even unmounted the offset Dueck sights I put on my 3-gun AR since I started using it because my current scope is good enough by itself. My Burris MTAC 1-4x24 reticle works like a red dot at 1x and like a scope at 4x. I rountinely put 8 out of 10 shots in the 10 ring of a silhouette target at 300 yards with only the 4x and its BDC points for a guide. And yes I shot USPSA and IDPA for a couple of years before doing my first 3-gun match last year. Most fun you can have with firearms and your clothes on.
As for .22 practice I have done both a .22 conversion kit (CMMG) and a dedicated rifle (S&W 15-22). I prefer the dedicated rifle because too much .22 work will tend to gunk up the gas system in some ARs. Even multi-time 3-gun Open division champ Jerry Miculek uses a 15-22 for practice. He shoots a lot of .22 ammo per month. I did take my CMMG conversion kit and turn it into a dedicated .22 upper finally.
As for the scope issue with a dedicated rifle it is money wasted if you have the same optics as your 3-gun. You want something that looks as similar as possible to the eye in the reticle. I use the Burris MTAC ($363 @ CTD) on my 3-gun but use a Sniper, Inc. ($140) 1-4x28 on my .22. The problem with a kit is the POA of your optics with the .22 conversion in your upper will be significantly lower than your 5.56 shoots. I don't like fooling around with the scope's zero just for practice. Also the S&W 15-22 performs EXACTLY like my 3-gun AR in form and function, even to allowing the mag to drop free without the bolt closing, which the .22 conversions I have tried wont do. I'm sorry but the 10/22 just does not feel even close to the same functionality of my 3-gun AR. Nor does my Rem 597s. None of the aftermarket 10/22 triggers feel like the Geissele S3G in my AR. Its muscle memory working here. You want your practice gun to feel just like your AR (although the weight will be less of course).

The fastest and best way to learn to do it right, is to take a course.

Learning yourself, you will learn bad habits and then have to unlearn them to learn the right way.

Pinecone said:

The fastest and best way to learn to do it right, is to take a course.

Learning yourself, you will learn bad habits and then have to unlearn them to learn the right way.

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Good advice.

Tip: heel to toe when moving forward; toe to heel when moving back.

justeric said:

I have a Rock River R3 upper on order but no telling how long its going to take for delivery.

In the mean time, I was thinking about putting a red dot sight on my Rugger 10/22, 22 LR and doing some practice. Heck even after I get my AR setup, I would like to do the majority of my practice using a 22Lr gun. I suspect the important things are getting the gun on target quickly, moving properly/safely and pulling the trigger correctly. I think most of that can be practiced with a 22. Of course it would be better to get a 22 that is styled after an AR with all the same controls.

One question. I am used to shooting slowly and deliberately. In action shooting you don't have the time to get that perfect shot, again and again in a short amount of time. As a shooter, you give up one hole ragged groups for speed. Is shooting an AR in action scenarios more like shooting a shot gun? When I shoot my shot gun at trap/skeet, I don't really aim the gun with the sight. I put the gun on my check and wherever I look is where I am pointed, as long as I have a good check weld. Is shooting an AR much the same? Put the gun on your check, and what your looking at is what your going to hit? I suspect it's sort of in between shooting with a sight/scope and shooting a shotgun in that you use your red dot but you do most of your work pointing the gun with your eyes. I'm not sure I explained that very good.

Any suggestions or comments?

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I aim every time (doesn't always work out, but I do it anyway); the amount of time it takes to transition and get a hit will decrease over time. Just go slow and take as much time as you need. While I'll qualify that time+ scoring rewards speed, if you are just getting started focus on what it takes to get a first round hit "EVERY" time, the speed will come. Lastly, get someone to film your stages; the couple seconds it takes to hand your phone to someone in your squad will give you a ton of feedback on how you are doing and what you need to work on.

There are a few drills you can practice. Some are good for all types of firearms, like the so-called Bill Drills. It is a drill to improve transition speed and accuracy at the same time. It is designed for static steel targets. I think Todd Jarret has done them on one of the shooting shows at least once.
You need a speed timer, 3 steel targets around 8x8", and some mags loaded to 6 rounds each. Shooting at one target only, either from the ready position (45 degrees down) or from a holster. When the buzzer goes off bring the firearm up and shoot at a speed that always allows you to get 6 hits on a single plate, no faster. Then with the same setup using all three targets start the same way and shoot to double tap each target shooting a total of 6 rounds. You want to get to the point where part 1 is only a few hundredths faster than part 2. I usually set my 3 targets up in a triangle about 2-3 feet apart so I have to transition both L-R and U-D. My best is with one of my AR15-22s, muzzle touching the table in front of me. Best of the 6 shot target is 1.47s, while my best of the 3 targets is 1.51s. 4 hundredths of a second is the smallest differential I can do for any of my firearms. Obviously it is nearly impossible to find steel to use with a real AR but these drills have helped me with all my action shooting whether .22 vs .223 or .22 vs 9mm.
If you want to find good training info join Brian Enos's website. That is where I met BJ Norris long before I met him in person at the 2011 Ruger Rimfire World Championship.